Shloka 13
Omens in the Kuru Host and Droṇa’s Recognition of Arjuna (क्लीबवेषधारी पार्थ-परिज्ञानम्)
अथैतद् वचन मेडद्य नियुक्ता न करिष्यसि । प्रणयादुच्यमाना त्वं परित्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम्,“सखी! मैं बड़े प्रेमसे यह बात कहती हूँ। यदि आज इतना अनुरोध करनेपर भी तुम मेरी बात नहीं मानोगी, तो मैं प्राण त्याग दूँगी'
atha etad vacanaṁ medady niyuktā na kariṣyasi | praṇayād ucyamānā tvaṁ parityakṣyāmi jīvitam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Now, if you will not carry out this request of mine, even after being urged, then—though I speak out of affection—I shall renounce my life.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how affection (praṇaya) can be used rhetorically to intensify a demand, even turning into coercion through a threat of self-destruction. Ethically, it invites reflection on the difference between sincere intimacy and manipulative pressure, and on respecting another’s agency rather than forcing compliance through guilt or fear.
A speaker, addressing a close companion, insists that her request must be carried out. She claims she is speaking lovingly, but escalates the plea by declaring that if her words are not obeyed despite repeated urging, she will give up her life—thereby heightening the emotional stakes of the scene.